


Names

by Bilbosama



Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, backdated work, no romance considering this is combining a trope with nnk soul mates, originally part of the big dang nnk2 fic collection until april 5 2020, soul mate's name is on your wrist au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23503939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bilbosama/pseuds/Bilbosama
Summary: In a world where everyone gets their soul mate's name on their wrist, Oliver was never able to see his.
Kudos: 25





	Names

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted in Stick to the Script and Other Stories until I decided to move it out of there because that collection was like 90% nnk2 and it seemed so out of place.
> 
> _Original note: Y'know what this fandom is missing? The 'your soul mate's name appears on your wrist' AU. But with a twist._
> 
> _1\. Everybody has their canon soul mate but only in Oliver/Roland's world does the name on wrist thing. Everyone is aware that they have a soul mate but no one has actually met them. The best you can get is dreams where you experience part of your soul mate's life. In some cases, it is really confusing because, for example, now you occasionally speak cat. But in the unlikely event you and your soul mate are in close proximity, the letters on your wrist start tingling and get more intense the more you get closer._
> 
> _2\. The markings on your wrist are referred to as your 'Name' because again, that's usually all you get. They appear sometime after you turn twelve. The letters always appear in a dark red color. If your soul mate dies, the letters turn black and then you die within a year. If you or your soul mate get broken hearted or corrupted by darkness, your Name is immediately covered by a weird affliction._
> 
> _3\. Very rarely do people not get their Name. These people are called Nameless and tend to be viewed with pity._
> 
> _4\. So...basically like real life but everyone gets a random tattoo one day and rolls with it._
> 
> _I did two versions with Oliver and Roland. At first I was just going to do Roland only but then I remembered certain spoilers in the first game._
> 
> _This here is Oliver's version._
> 
> _Originally posted on Tumblr on November 9, 2018._
> 
> Roland version can be found [over here.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16336130/chapters/38976698)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. The Ni No Kuni series belongs to Level-5 and Bandai Namco. This work is only permitted to be hosted on fanfiction.net (under the username bilbo-sama), archive of our own (bilbosama), tumblr (bilbosama), and dreamwidth (bilbosama). If this work appears on sites or apps I did not list above, it has been done so without my permission.

For as long as Oliver can remember, his mother always covered her wrists. It wasn't until he turned twelve and learned why.

When one turns twelve, one of the things to look forward to is learning the name of your soul mate. Sometimes you get a full name. Sometimes it's just one word like 'Fred' and you have no idea which Fred it means. Some people, like his friend Phil, aren't pleased by the reveal.

"Who the heck is Pip anyway?" he occasionally complains.

And very rarely, does a name never appear.

His mother was in that category. She didn't have her soul mate's name. It never came to her. So she hid the fact away from the world and claimed her soul mate had died.

Oliver wished that it was the same as her.

Because what does purple and black bruises that seemed to _move_ exactly mean? They also obscured his Name and once in a while he could see part of a letter. It wasn't enough to try to figure out what his Name could possibly be. Nights where he dreamed of the source of his Name weren't very helpful either. Mostly he dreamed of a robed figure who wandered through cities unseen. The being would occasionally use their cane to trip people.

So he chose to cover up his wrists and pretended to not notice how sad his mother looked whenever she stared at the coverings. Maybe she had hoped her child would have better luck…

* * *

Oliver was now thirteen and summer was approaching. The car he and Phil made is almost done. If the test went well, then they have most of the summer to prepare for the race in August.

Only it didn't go well. The car broke down and his mother died saving him.

The funeral had overcast skies and he kept overhearing adults muttering to each other as if he wasn't there.

"At least Allie will meet her Name in Heaven."

"Oh, haven't you heard? She never had one."

"Oh my. Well, I don't blame her for lying. That poor dear…"

"Weak heart…no Name…raising a boy all alone…"

"Now now, this isn't the dark ages. She wasn't cursed."

"But haven't you seen little Oliver? He covers his wrists…"

"That poor child…!"

Oliver could feel the pitying stares intensifying and hunched into himself to make himself smaller and unnoticeable.

* * *

He couldn't believe it.

Allie has a soul mate after all! And if Oliver freed her, then his mother might come back…!

And maybe, once Alicia is free, her Name will finally appear. He didn't share the thought with Mr. Drippy though. The fairy was surprised to find himself in a 'one-sided world' where one world vaguely knew of the other. Apparently some worlds don't have soul mates in any form and some worlds did but were never given any indication of this. It all sounded strange to Oliver. How can you go through life without knowing who you were truly connected to?

The new clothes he was given in Mr. Drippy's world had long sleeves which meant he didn't need go any further to hide his blighted Name. The idea was…freeing. Anyone who noticed any 'bruising' extending into his palm would think he merely injured himself. No one here needed to know of his Name. No one would judge him with pity for hiding his Name.

Oliver wondered if he'll somehow meet the one who matched his Name in this world.

* * *

"Also…my Name…well…" Myrtle meekly removed the bandages covering her wrist and Oliver gasped.

Her Name had been obscured with black and purple bruising that seemed to move if you look at it long enough.

"It started a few months ago," explained Myrtle, "One day, my Name became like this. I can't see the letters very well now."

"What," began Oliver, unsure how to word his question, "what did it used to say?"

"Esther," answered Myrtle. Mr. Drippy yelped in surprise. "And its not just me. It happened to my dad too. After that, he…changed."

To everyone's surprise, Rusty Cartwright's wrist cleared the moment his heart was rebuilt with the kindness he was missing. The Name _Rashaad_ was written in red elegant letters. If his resemblance to the Mamooni sage wasn't enough to confirm Oliver's suspicions that he had met the man's Name, then the letters on his wrist definitely did.

Oliver kept quiet on what he knew. It was probably for the best he didn't say anything. He didn't know how to explain any of it without sounding crazy. He was getting odd looks around town already.

As Oliver restored Esther's heart, Myrtle watched as the bruises faded away and the red ink of _Esther_ stood out against her pale skin.

* * *

The painting of the Cowlipha reminded Oliver of Miss Leila. He was surprised to learn that the shop owner's Name was a queen.

But with this lead, he can return home and try to find clues on how to help Her Moojesty.

To his and Esther's surprise, Esther was invisible to everyone except to Oliver and Mr. Drippy. He'll have to ask the fairy why later but for now, he watched as the girl looked around in wonder.

"Oh, it closed," groaned Oliver when the group reached Leila's store. Strange, it should be open by now.

"Hello Oliver," said Myrtle behind him, "Do you need something from the store?"

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"Now that I've gotten better, I decided to get a job here," the girl explained, her eyes shined with renewed life.

"That's great!"

"Oliver, who is that and why do I feel like I know her?" asked Esther as she approached the two.

"Um..." started Oliver.

"Oh!" Myrtle suddenly grabbed her wrist. Alarmed, Oliver hurried to her side.

"What's wrong?"

"My Name got...tingly." She released it and allowed Oliver to peer down at the letters. He heard Esther gasp in surprise.

"It's getting stronger," reported Myrtle.

"Does it hurt?" asked Oliver with worry.

Myrtle shook her head, "No, it does not. It's just...weird."

"Huh."

And then Miss Leila arrived and to the children's alarm, her wrist had bruises covering over her Name.

* * *

Oliver hissed as his wrist holding his Name suddenly throbbed as the ship got closer to Autumnia.

"What's wrong Ollie-boy?" asked Mr. Drippy, alerting Esther and Swaine.

"My Name hurts," he replied and immediately winced at how strange it must've sounded to his companions.

"What's wrong with it?" Esther unhooked her harp and peered over Oliver's shoulder to look at his wrist.

"I don't know," he uncurled his fingers and Esther 'ooohed' in sympathy.

"Blimey, how the he…heck did you do that?" said Swaine as he noticed how purple the young wizard's palm looked.

"It's always been like that," sighed Oliver, "ever since I got my Name last year."

"Your…what?"

"Where Oliver's from, people get the name of their soul mate on their arm," explained Esther, "we met the Cowlipha's soul mate in Oliver's hometown. Her wrist was doing the same thing."

"Did it get better?"

"It…must have," blinked Oliver, realizing that they never checked up on Miss Leila. "Myrtle's Name cleared up fine after Esther's heart was fixed."

"So if we find your soul mate," mused Swaine, "and restore their broken heart, your arm will get better?"

A dark chuckle suddenly filled the air, "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."

To everyone's horror, Shadar hovered onto the deck.

"Not before I can test you, Pure-Hearted One."

* * *

His journey was all for nothing.

The Great Sage Alicia was his mother all along. The reason why she didn't have a Name was because she was from Shadar's world. As consequence of using Breach Time and Gateway at the same time, her soul mate in Motorville was lost forever. It was just Alicia in both worlds.

There was no saving her from death.

And to make things worse, Shadar…

Of all Names Oliver could have, it was Shadar's…!

Oliver wasn't sure when he returned to his old bedroom but staying in there forever sounded like a good idea right now.

* * *

His arm became even more bruised and tender the deeper he ventured into Nevermore. Part of him hoped that he misunderstood the conversation and that his soul mate wasn't Shadar at all. His true soul mate was somebody else who was brokenhearted and Oliver was merely sensitive to dark magic which is what the Executor tends to favor.

But…even if Oliver held Shadar's Name, Shadar had to be stopped. He had been hurting people for a very long time. It was Oliver's duty as the Pure-Hearted One to make things right.

They were connected even if Oliver hated the idea. It meant some part of Oliver's soul was tainted with darkness, right? Could he truly be pure of heart? Could he purify himself by exorcising the source?

The thought of killing Shadar curdled in his stomach. How…how he could do that to his Soul Mate?

No, he couldn't do that. If it all came to a fight, then Oliver will do his best to calm the old man down. And then he could bring Shadar back to his senses…

* * *

Shadar…no, Lucien, was dead. He had been in a deep despair for centuries but now he was free.

Lucien is dead. Oliver would be dead too if the old man hadn't severed the link between them.

Oliver wasn't sure what to feel about that as he watched the land around Castle Nevermore became green and full of life.

"Oh yeah," said Swaine suddenly and it broke Oliver out of his thoughts, "your arm. Does it say anything now?"

Oliver then noticed the lack of pain coming from his arm. He pinched a fingertip and felt sensation.

Oliver pulled back his sleeve, expecting to see the usual cloudiness. But to his surprise, he saw letters. When one's Name dies, the letters turn black. Usually when that happens, the holder of the Name dies soon after that. But he never heard what happens if the link was severed.

In white ink, like a scar, was _Lucien_.

**Author's Note:**

> This felt like a good place to stop. *shrugs*
> 
> Yeah, nearly everybody in Oliver's world experienced the bruises of doom when the manna came down. It lead to one heck of an eventful week and a half and Oliver managed to miss most of it.


End file.
